Abstract: Since the 1960s, racialized metaphors describing dysfunctional parents have been deployed by conservative policymakers to shape the way that the public views anti-poverty programs. The merging of race and welfare has eroded support for a robust social safety net, despite growing poverty and economic inequality throughout the land. This Article begins by describing the […]

Abstract: The Legal Services Corporation (“LSC”), formed as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, was one of many initiatives aimed at providing low-income individuals with equal access to justice. Today, the increasing number of people living in poverty, coupled with decreased funding for legal services, has resulted in a significant justice gap […]

Abstract: This Article examines the changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), which were intended to reconcile the Act with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and the effect those changes have had on the education of children with disabilities. The Article highlights the important role that parents were given in […]

Abstract: Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the War on Poverty. Since then, the federal tax code has been a fundamental tool in providing financial assistance to poor working families. Even today, however, thirty-two million children live in families that cannot support basic living expenses, and sixteen million of those live in extreme […]

Abstract: Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson launched the War on Poverty. The Legal Services Program of 1965, along with the Legal Services Corporation formed in 1974, considerably increased civil legal aid to America’s poor. Yet today, there is only one legal aid attorney for every 6,415 people living in poverty. Veterans, comprising 4.6% […]

Abstract: Wrongful birth claims are negligence actions brought on behalf of children born with disabilities or genetic disorders that were not properly diagnosed before the child’s birth. The plaintiffs, typically the parents of the afflicted child, argue that without the defendant’s negligence, the parents would have had the opportunity to prevent the child’s birth and […]

Abstract: Richard Nixon fundamentally changed the prison system in America when he launched the “War on Drugs” in 1969, leading to a series of federal laws imposing harsh mandatory sentences on drug offenders. In an attempt to shield children from drugs, New Jersey followed other states in passing a “drug-free school zone” statute. The statute […]

Abstract: In Cuellar de Osorio v. Mayorkas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit extended the Child Status Protection Act’s (“CSPA”) protections to all children who age out during the extended process of obtaining a visa as a child derivative beneficiary. In so holding, the court overturned a precedential decision by the Board […]

Abstract: In 2010, Dr. James H. Knight DDS fired his employee, Melissa Nelson, explaining that his wife had become jealous of their consensual but nonsexual relationship. Nelson, in turn, filed a sex discrimination claim, alleging that her termination would not have occurred, but-for her sex. The Iowa Supreme Court sided with Knight, ruling that Nelson’s […]

Abstract: In Evans v. Secretary, Department of Corrections, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit denied habeas corpus relief to a death row inmate who claimed that ineffective assistance of counsel prejudiced his death sentence hearing. Despite the defense counsel’s omission of evidence suggesting that the inmate suffered from various mental disabilities, […]

Abstract: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a district wide ban of bracelets containing the word “boobies” was an impermissible restriction of students’ First Amendment speech rights. The majority’s focus on the bracelets’ social message is critical for the preservation of students’ rights to discuss social issues, particularly health issues. […]

Abstract: In United States v. Burwell, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reviewed en banc the question of whether the Government must prove that the Defendant knew of the firearm’s automatic capability before invoking 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(B)(ii)’s mandatory thirty-year minimum sentence. The majority affirmed the Defendant’s conviction, holding that […]